This blog will post detailed news items about GLBT issues. Some of the issues include the "don't ask don't tell" policy for gays in the military, and gay marriage. Please note that my main website is DOASKDOTELL.COM (link on my Profile).

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About Me

Since the 1990s I have been very involved with fighting the military "don't ask don't tell" policy for gays in the military, and with First Amendment issues. Best contact is 571-334-6107 (legitimate calls; messages can be left; if not picked up retry; I don't answer when driving) Three other url's: doaskdotell.com, billboushka.com johnwboushka.com Links to my URLs are provided for legitimate content and user navigation purposes only.
My legal name is "John William Boushka" or "John W. Boushka"; my parents gave me the nickname of "Bill" based on my middle name, and this is how I am generally greeted. This is also the name for my book authorship. On the Web, you can find me as both "Bill Boushka" and "John W. Boushka"; this has been the case since the late 1990s. Sometimes I can be located as "John Boushka" without the "W." That's the identity my parents dealt me in 1943!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Supreme Court strikes down ("most" of) DOMA; In Proposition 8, Hollingsworth did not have standing to defend law

On Wednesday, June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court, with a
majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, has struck down the last provision (Section 3) of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed by President Clinton in 1996.

The ruling appears to be based on the Equal Protection
Clause.

That would mean that the federal government cannot refuse to
pay spousal benefits to same-sex partners in a state that recognizes the
relationship just because other states might not have; in a sense, federal obligations can be
affected by state actions in our system of federalism.

Kennedy apparently wrote that DOMA demeaned gay people and
their relationships.

The second part of the DOMA act, that states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages of other states, was left intact. It was the third portion (federal recognition and benefits) that was struck down. (See Wikipedia here.)

Edith Windsor will get her extra tax back.

But some of the benefits affected by DOMA had been
non-financial. Now the military will be required to notify same-sex partners
(if married in state of origin) after death or casualty during deployment.

The Supreme Court slip opinion (5-4) on United States v.
Windsor is here. Note that the SCOTUS wenbsite moves or renames the url's for slip opinions once they are filed.

The opinion will obviously be important to military same-sex couples, and to immigration of couples from countries recognizing same-sex marriage.

In Hollingsworth v. Perry (Proposition 8 in California),
Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion in a mixed 5-4 decision. The decision holds that Hollingsworth had no
right or standing to be in court defending the law. That
also means that the Ninth Circuit did not have jurisdiction. That means that the trial court in California
had the only jurisdiction. The slip opinion is here.

It is not clear that same-sex marriage is legal right now in
California but it may well be. This may
become a political question again. Stay
tuned for updates.

Jeffrey Toobin at CNN suggests that the legal landscape is
reminiscent of Loving in Virginia in 1967.
The legal climate invites a federal lawsuit to declare state laws
banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional under the way the 14th
Amendment might be extended.

Update: June 28

The Ninth Circuit has lifted the stay, and same-sex marriages can resume almost immediately in California.

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